Frank (Richard Coyle) is a small-time drug dealer with a sort of glamorous lifestyle

This tense thriller may be a retooled version of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 Danish hit but at least it steers clear of the usual Brit flick clichés.

For once, there are no lazy liftings from Guy Ritchie, no roles for ex-EastEnders goons and no urban yoof drama posturing.

Instead, Spanish director Luis Prieto keeps it real in the best possible way.

The original won plaudits for its gritty depiction of the Copenhagen underworld.

Despite being a far more stylised film than that low-budget effort, this still manages to do the same for our own capital city.

Forgoing the film industry’s usual haunts (the high-rise estates, the unaffordable riverside apartments) Prieto shows us a recognisable London of drug-fuelled parties, dodgy boozers and cramped rented flats.

The characters are refreshingly believable too. Frank (Richard Coyle) is a small-time drug dealer with a sort of glamorous lifestyle.

He’s earning a good living, has a beautiful girlfriend (Agyness Deyn), a funny sidekick (Bronson Webb) and a free pass to any club.

But when a drug deal goes horribly wrong, Frank suddenly finds himself in hock to a terrifying Serbian mobster (Zlatko Buric).

With just two days to find £55,000 Frank has to cast aside his easygoing nature and embrace his inner thug.

Prieto handles this transformation superbly, unbearably ratcheting up the tension as Frank’s life spirals out of control.

Coyle manages to keep us on Frank’s side, even while he’s delivering a gruesome beating and Webb keeps the laughs coming as the motor-mouthed Tony.

But the most surprising performance is from Deyn – an androgynous model who somehow convinces as a trick-turning lapdancer.

Credit is also due to Orbital whose thumping soundtrack powers the adrenalin-fuelled action towards its gripping finale.